Thai Shrimp Salad

This salad is perfect for consuming on a hot afternoon or evening. You'll want to serve it on rice, black or brown, to absorb the delicious Thai dressing.  I also ate the salad minus the shrimp for lunch and liked it just as well.  The mango is an integral part of the dish because it exudes its mango juices which mix with the Thai dressing and balances the spiciness of the ginger and chili pepper flakes.

Nutrition Highlight: Mango

Mangos—the fruit that wards off cancer and pimples because it is high in beta-carotene (beta-carotene becomes Vitamin A), with 1 cup of mango providing you with 36% of the Daily Value of Vitamin A.  

Orange and dark green fruits and vegetables are packed with carotenoids.  Beta-carotene is often the most talked about in terms of Vitamin A related carotenoids because  our body can convert beta carotene with the most efficiency to retinol (Vitamin A). This means that food with beta-carotene can help out with physiologic functions, such as body growth and night vision, while simultaneously giving us a healthy dose of cancer fighting antioxidants.

Have skin problems?

• Free radicals from environmental toxins promote inflammation, such as pimples. But the  beta-carotene antioxidants in mangos can help clear clogged pores, giving you back your unblemished skin.

What are free radicals?

• Free radicals are missing an electron in their outer shell, so they steal electrons from their neighbors. This stealing causes damage to cells and leads to cancer. That's why beta-carotene is so important. It's an anti-oxidant, which means it fights free radicals and helps prevent cancer!

Cooking Tip

Make "mango turtles."

1. To make a mango turtle, cut the 2 biggest cheeks off either side of the mango. It's sometimes hard to guess where the pit is located—this mango had a very lopsided pit.

2. Gently make horizontal and vertical cuts in the cheek without going through the skin. 

3. Invert the skin so that the cubes stick up (seen in the foreground).

4. Slice off the cubes of the "mango turtle shell," then go back and try to remove the flesh close to the skin with your knife. 

5. Mango goes really well with mixed greens and avocado for a deliciously simple salad. The mango juice even acts as a dressing!

Thai Shrimp Salad
Printable Recipe

This refreshing salad is perfect for a hot afternoon or evening.  Make sure to serve on rice or with naan or bread to soak up the juicy dressing.

2 T lime juice

1 T fish sauce

1 T canola oil

2 tsp light brown sugar

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp ginger grated

1 clove garlic, crushed

5 oz cooked and peeled small shrimp (8 per salad)
*the salad is still yummy without the shrimp

1 cup thinly sliced red, yellow and/or orange bell pepper

1 cup seeded and thinly sliced cucumber (cut into matchsticks)

1 medium avocado, diced

1/2 a large mango (1 cup)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (could also sub. some of the cilantro with basil or mint)

black or brown rice for serving

1. Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, oil, brown sugar and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Add shrimp, bell pepper, cucumber and fresh herbs; toss to coat.  Serve on 1/2 c of rice per person.

Serves 2.